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“Yes! I understand. I have been thinking endlessly since our meeting on how different our world would be without magic.” Driveal noted. “Let alone if every she-elf had an elf to call her own and he to return that lone claim to her and her alone. That would be wonderful, though my life might perhaps be harder without the assistance of my matrons. Right now, Sammthathir is incapable of caring for herself, let alone me, but having all six of my matrons they are able to care for each other and care for me in my physical weakness.”
I nodded. “It only really works on my world because we are more physically strong and able to support each other in hard times.”
He stroked his chin, “Interesting. I had wondered if your physical strength was indicative that females on your world, but it sounds like that isn’t the case.”
I shook my head, “No, females on my world can be just as strong as men, and in some ways they are oftentimes stronger.”
“Interesting.” Driveal mused.
“But you said becoming my matron was close to the best case scenario. What did you mean by that? It sounded like there was more to that then simply that she was now a matron.” I prodded, making sure I wasn’t overlooking things.
Driveal sighed, “Narusil is gifted. Almost extremely so. She is a powerful mage, capable of the strongest wards and powerful destructive magic. She could be an incredible asset on the battlefield, there is just one problem…” He took a deep breath, “… the first time she was sent to a battlefield, she froze. Her mind could not justify utilizing her gift to end the lives of her opponents, shadow elf or not. She cloaked herself in a barrier of force and cowered in terror until the battle had ended. Luckily our forces were able to defeat the shadow elves that time, but she was brought home, declared a coward, her position stripped from her and she was pushed into roles that were outside of her skillset.”
I remembered how when I had walked up to her, she had been looking dejected at her shoes, convinced she was unworthy of even being considered. Suddenly, her self doubt and fear that she had no value to bring made a great deal of sense.
“That was five years ago, and Narusil has struggled to find a place she belongs, and in the household of a master, especially one that will likely have as many matrons as yours, I believe she will finally find a home… a place where she belongs.” Driveal finished, a far off look in his eyes.
The sigil on my finger flared, not painfully, but as if a weight had attached to my finger. It wasn’t something I couldn’t handle, but it startled me.
Driveal’s head snapped to stare at my sigil. “Already?”
I held my left hand up, staring at my sigil. I realized with the chaos that took place after my bonding I had been distracted, and never really exammed it.
“What do you mean, ‘Already’?” I asked.
Driveal smiled, “Let me guess, your sigil just felt like a weight was just dropped on your finger.”
I nodded confused.
“Let’s take a look shall we?” He held out his hand.
I set my hand on his thin and wiry hand. He looked at the sigil and as I did, my sigil seemed to expand to my eye. The intermingled lines were expanded to their own orbit around my finger. Concentrating, I could identify each line of my bond. Tavoerwen’s line looked like a meandering branch with leaves. Diamiutar’s mark was like a lace ribbon, thin and delicate with steam-like swirls in the lace. Heilantu’s claim on my finger was a chain of suns and stars each connecting with rays of light to each other. Creaden was a series of swirls of wind, with leaves and arrows decorating the paths of the wind. Lymarith was a line of runes, connecting like strange cursive. And Narusil was a series of geometric shapes, with five alternating runes.
“Whose line is the one with the shapes and runes? You see how the lines are thicker, and I am guessing to your eyes it glows brighter than the others?” Driveal asked.
Narusil’s line was indeed thicker and brighter than the others.
“That line belongs to Naruisil.” I told him.
Driveal sat tall with pride. “My daughter… the first to bear your child…. Oh, this is an honor.”
My head snapped up, “WHAT?!”Original from NôvelDrama.Org.
Driveal smiled, “You probably know even before she does. When a matron conceives, the magic of your bond is strengthened because there is another soul abiding within the bond.”
I stared at the mark on my finger. My child… my first child…. existed inside Narusil. They had talked about children. I had imagined what it would be like to become a father, but the reality of receiving the news was something I could never prepare for. I had wanted to help the wood elves, and once I was bound to my matrons it was more personal. Now, more than lovers, Narusil had brought into sharp relief that they were more than that, they were mothers for my children.
“Will everything be okay?” I worried, terrified for Narusil and the tiny life inside her. “What if she miscarries?”
Driveal’s face was struck with horror. “Mis… carries? Do your women fail to bear some of the children they conceive?”
I looked at him, “Is… that not a thing among elves? I mean, doesn’t it take longer for the egg to implant?”
Driveal blinked as though I’d just short circuited his brain. “I see you know some things about females on you world that may be different from females here….” He looked over at Tavorwen, “Would you mind if I used your body to show your master how the elven physiology of reproduction works?”
“Not at all.” Tavorwen agreed, standing and walking over.
Driveal placed a hand over her stomach, “Ack thomai, noh var kunvai.”
Tavorwen’s midriff seemed to shimmer, and when the shimmering settled it was as though I could see into her body, like one of those diagrams in health class where skin, muscle and like half the organs were gone to show what was inside. Then I noticed something. There was sperm inside her fallopian tubes… I was literally seeing into the body of my matron.
“No matter how many times I see it, it is always a little strange to see inside my body.” Tavorwen mused, looking down at her reproductive organs.
Driveal smiled, “I am glad you brought a matron with whom your bond has been consummated. That does make a few things easier.”
He turned Tavorwen so I could see her insides more clearly. “So, here, you can see that her insemination barrier was ruptured when you made love.” He pointed down to a healing section, just inside her vagina, where her hymen had once resided. “When that barrier is broken a signal is sent to the matron’s brain,” with a twitch of his finger a blue spark raced over her skin, up her body to her head, “and to her matriarchal reservoirs.” A pair of blue jolts seemed to dance through her uterus and up her fallopian tubes to her ovaries. “Forgive the light show, it helps to clarify.” Driveal apologized.
I shook my head, “No, no! This is… this is incredible!”
There was no blood or anything actually interfering with Tavorwen’s body, we could just see in and see what was happening.”
“I’m glad you approve.” Driveal smiled, “Now prior to receiving that signal, an elf keeps all of her potential children safe in her reservoirs. Once the barrier is broken, she will release one potential child every two years for fertilization, assuming she is not already pregnant. A number of factors determine how long it takes for the first potential child to be released. These range from the nutritional completeness of the matron’s diet, her natural biorhythm, if she feels safe, if she is happy, if she is injured, and so on. We have not been able to nail down all of these factors and some seem to affect the amount of time it takes more than others. Generally, though the faster this first child is released the more it indicates that she is happy and well taken care of.”
He gave me a look, “So you can see why I am so pleased that Narusil is with child so quickly.”
I chuckled, I guess it was a good sign.
“Now, we can see that Tavorwen has not conceived yet, by observing a few simple things.” He motioned to her sperm filled fallopian tubes. “If you notice, gravity is attempting to pull the seed from her reproductive tract, but do you see how her body pinches and ripples, pulling the seed deeper into her body? That is in preparation for the moment her potential child is released. It is an involuntary action on her part, like an erection for a male. And like a male, it is only caused if the female is aroused and willing at the time of her insemination. If she were displeased or not a willing participant, the muscular action would reverse, forcing the seed out of her body. But as you can see, you did a good job and your matron clearly approved of the action.”
Tavorwen shot him an annoyed look, which he missed being too focused on his explanation. Looking carefully I could see the pulsing he talked about working my sperm deeper into her.
“Now it sounds like it takes some time, with your females, for the child to reach the birthing chamber, once the potential child has been fertilized with your seed. If you will forgive some slight illusions, I will show you how that process happens with an elf.” Driveal stated. ”
Drive made a few quick gestures, and said the word, “Marraj.”
The sperm in her tubes faded from few and a golden light appeared in her ovary.
“As the child is released, it will be held in the fertilization channels for as long as possible.” Driveal explained and the glowing light slipped into her fallopian tube where the pulsing seemed to hold it at the end of the tube. “Then once the sperm and child are together, the muscular action reverses and the sperm and child are moved to the birthing chamber.” The illusion showed a thin milky substance, not my thick white cum, entering her, filling her tube, then the pulsing reversed, pushing the glowing orb and what I assumed was supposed to be elven cum into her uterus, which held them until the golden light latched to the edge. “Now usually, a matron’s body will hold onto semen for about a week, and once it has purged the cum the matron is ready to be inseminated again. If there is already sperm and semen in the channel, a child can be released and moved to the birthing chamber within two hours. A similar time frame can happen if the child is waiting in the channel when the semen arrives.”
Driveal waved his hand and the magic allowing us to see inside Tavorwen faded, her clothing returning to view first.
“The primary point of failure in the process is the fact that the first seed to reach the child will attempt to fertilize it, completing its soul.” Driveal explained, “And an unfortunate amount of the time, the seed of life from the male is found… lacking. If this happens, the child withers, and will be passed within a matter of days. But if a strong seed merges with the child, then it will take root in the matron’s birthing chamber and grow.”